- Business Insider is narrowing its mission to business, tech, and innovation journalism while trimming traffic- and commerce-dependent coverage.
- The company cut about 21% of staff in May 2025 to reduce costs and operate more resiliently amid volatile distribution and web traffic.
- BI is pushing companywide AI adoption, building tools like AI-powered search and smart paywalls to lift productivity and monetization.
- It is diversifying revenue with initiatives like BI Live events to reduce reliance on ads and search-driven commerce.
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The phrase “Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know” represents more than just marketing bravado—it encapsulates the company’s recent strategic transformation. CEO Barbara Peng’s internal memo from May 29, 2025 makes clear that the outlet is doubling down on specialized coverage in business, technology, and innovation, while Republicans parts of the site—particularly those predicated on search traffic and commerce affiliate models—are being trimmed or exited altogether. This pivot aligns content strategy with long‐term sustainability, targeting readers willing to engage deeply and, importantly, pay for value.
Workforce reductions of approximately 21% reflect both financial pressure—web traffic and distribution volatility—and the need to recalibrate around core strengths. The cuts touch every department and are designed to make the organization leaner and better able to absorb shocks.
A major lever in this transformation is artificial intelligence. Over 70% of staff were using Enterprise ChatGPT by May 2025; business is launching AI‐powered tools (e.g. smart paywalls, onsite search) that improve monetization and operational efficiency. The goal is 100% adoption, which could reshape workflows and editorial operations.
Another pillar of the new strategy is revenue diversification. Launching a live events business (BI Live), scaling back reliance on low-margin commerce verticals, and extracting greater revenue per website visit—double compared to two years ago—illustrate a move toward more stable, higher value revenue sources.
The risks are material. Reducing workforce and scaling back coverage could compromise breadth and weaken elements of the brand. Heavy AI adoption could raise concerns around quality or authenticity. And with the media industry facing platform dependency, regulatory scrutiny on AI, and changing consumer behavior, execution will be critical.
Strategic implications: BI’s sharpening focus suggests investment firms, advertisers, and competitors will need to reassess where value lies—niche, high-engagement journalism may command premium but narrower audiences. Investment in event business and AI tools opens new growth vectors. Open questions remain around talent retention, audience perception of AI-driven content, the pace of subscription growth, and how BI will manage potential backlash from reduced coverage and perception of automation.
Supporting Notes
- Business Insider plans a ~21% workforce reduction in May 2025, affecting all departments.
- The company aims to be “the essential source of business, tech, and innovation journalism,” signaling a narrowed editorial focus.
- 70% of BI’s business remains sensitive to web traffic; to address that, BI is exiting much of its Commerce verticals heavily reliant on search.
- Revenue per website visit is now roughly double what it was two years prior, though volatility remains a business risk.
- Over 70% of employees use Enterprise ChatGPT regularly as of May 2025; BI is building AI products such as AI-powered search and AI-driven paywalls.
- LRelaunch of BI Live—events and live journalism—as a key revenue stream versus traditional ad and commerce channels.
- Senior promotions and structural changes within the Innovation team reflect investment in new editorial leadership and initiatives.